Life Without Casey
by DeviousDomi
Summary: What happens to the family when Casey gets into a tragic car accident?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own LWD. But I do have this awesome yellow rubber duckie my mom bought for Sterling. But since Sterling won't be here until December I can play with it. :D**

**A/N: Yeah, this one I cried while writing. Please enjoy.**

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><p>It was the phone call every parent hopes never comes. It's the one thing that should never happen. But it did. Nora didn't believe the words. There was no way Casey was gone. She was always a safe driver, she always wore her seatbelt and followed all the speed limits. How did she get in a car crash?<p>

Derek was the one to find Nora crumpled into tears on the floor. The phone was off the hook, Nora was sobbing so much she had the hiccups in the middle of them. Derek was instantly on alert. Something was wrong, but with who? He rushed over to her and just wrapped his arms around her, giving the best comfort he could. It was a bit awkward for him, but he had to do something.

"What happened?" he asked, after she had calmed down some. She still had tears running down her face, and the hiccups hadn't subsided, but she tried to answer him at least.

"C-casey, she-she's," she couldn't finish the sentence, but Derek got that something was majorly wrong with Casey. His Casey. He grabbed the dangling phone and put it to his ear, the line was dead.

"Nora, please tell me what happened to Casey," he begged. He was starting to freak out. Nothing could happen to her. She was the one thing that was always there, nothing could happen to her.

"She's gone!" Nora burst out in even heavier tears. Derek couldn't hold his tears back any longer either. She couldn't be gone. It was impossible.

The two sat on the floor crying together for a long while before anyone else came in. George had taken the three youngest kids out for ice cream, and when they got back they were in shock with what they saw. Derek, wanting to be strong for his step-mom, told them what had happened at least to his knowledge. All he got out of Nora was a car wreck.

George managed to get the rest of the information out of Nora, Derek tried to keep the younger kids calm as their parnets went to identify the body. Derek asked to go, but they said it would be best if he stayed with Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti. It was a few hours before they got back.

"Was it her?" Lizzie asked as they walked through the door. Nora was once again in tears, and George just nodded. Lizzie joined her mother in tears and soon enough everyone but Derek was crying. He wanted to be strong. He decided all his crying had been done with Nora earlier. He had to be strong for his family, it's what Casey would have wanted.

The next day George made phone calls to the family. It was hard. Then they sent Marti over to Emily's while the rest of the family made funeral arangements. Nora was trying to keep herself together and get everything done for her daughter, just the way she would have wanted her to.

It was clear that everyone in the family missed Casey and all her crazy ways. Derek was the worst. He was acting more grown up, trying to help with whatever he could. It worried George a bit, but he knew that his son was just trying to do what he thought Casey would want him to do. It seemed like the whole family was just trying to do what they thought Casey would want. But did anybody really know what she would want?

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, I know this is all sad and stuff. And it'll be that way the entire way through. But I hope you like it. Up next is the funeral and shit gets crazy. What did you think though?**

**~Domi~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own LWD or If I Die Young.**

**A/N: So so so sorry it's been ages. Life has given me a hell of a lot of lemons and I've done my best to make the best. Anyways, this song always makes me cry. I hope you enjoy this!**

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><p><strong>If I Die Young – The Band Perry<strong>

**If I die young bury me in satin**

**Lay me down on a bed of roses**

**Sink me in the river at dawn**

**Send me away with the words of a love song**

**Uh oh, Uh oh**

**Lord make me a rainbow I'll shine down on my mother**

**She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors**

**Oh and life ain't always what you think it ought to be**

**No, ain't even gray but she buries her baby**

**The sharp knife of a short life**

**Well I've had just enough time**

**If I die young bury me in satin**

**Lay me down on a bed of roses**

**Sink me in the river at dawn**

**Send me away with the words of a love song**

**The sharp knife of a short life**

**Well I've had just enough time**

**And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom **

**I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger**

**I've never known the lovin' of a man **

**But it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand**

**There's a boy here in town who says he'll love me forever**

**Who would have thought forever could be severed by**

**The sharp knife of a short life**

**Well I've had just enough time**

**So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls**

**What I never did is done**

**A penny for my thoughts**

**Oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar**

**They're worth so much more after I'm a goner**

**And maybe then you'll hear the words **

**I've been singing**

**Funny when you're dead how people start a-listenin'**

**If I die young bury me in satin**

**Lay me down on a bed of roses**

**Sink me in the river at dawn**

**Send me away with the words of a love song**

**Uh oh**

**The ballad of the dove**

**Uh oh**

**Go with peace and love**

**Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket **

**Save them for a time when you're really gonna need 'em**

**Oh the sharp knife of a short life**

**Well I've had just enough time**

**So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls**

The day of the funeral had come. The McDonald-Venturi family sat together, tears trickling down everyone's faces except for Derek. He was trying to stay strong. He wouldn't let himself cry yet. Her favorite song was playing, it was a pop song that she always had on repeat. It didn't feel right to Derek that such happy music was playing while Casey wasn't there to enjoy it. Sure, she was laying just a few feet away in her beautiful coffin, lined with white satin. Roses were around her, but her body was cold. No amount of makeup could make her look like her lively self she had always been. Derek couldn't look at her. He couldn't take that. He wished that this all could be over with.

The preacher finally took his place at the podium and the music silenced. He welcomed everybody and said a few words about Casey and how life shouldn't be taken so soon from someone so wonderful. He then called Derek up to speak.

"Hello everybody," Derek began, "I wish we weren't here today, we all do. I wish Casey was here, I would probably be doing something to bug her right now and she'd yell 'DER-EK!' the way she had perfected. I know we didn't get along all the time, but she was my best friend. We were closer than anyone could ever imagine. I never admitted it to anyone, not even myself but I loved Casey more than a sister, more than a friend. She had, and always will have all of my heart. I know that you all probably think I'm crazy or just grieving, but I'm not. I really did love her, and I still do.

"She was such an amazing person. She had so much going for her, and it's a tragedy that she doesn't get the chance to show the world what she was made of. She wanted to do so much and help so many people, and now she doesn't even get the chance." I tear fell from Derek's eye. It was the first one he had shed since he found out the news. He just wanted to be strong for his family, it's what Casey would have wanted.

"Really, I don't know what more I can say about this wonderful person other than she was just that, wonderful. Sure she had her moments where she could get on your nerves, or be controlling, but it was because she loved her family and her friends. She would do anything she could to help those who needed it, and it's a shame she got taken from us so early. It's not fair, it should have been someone else, someone who wasn't as amazing as her. Someone like me." With that Derek sat down. He couldn't take it no longer, he let the tears fall as he held Nora and Edwin's hands. Marti came over and sat on his lap to put her arms around his neck.

Derek didn't pay much attention to the rest of the funeral procession, he didn't want to. He escaped to his own fantasy world, where he was bugging Casey by putting his feet on the coffee table and making a mess of potato chip crumbs everywhere. It was nice, he loved imagining her long hair swinging around her beautiful face when she turned to yell at him.

He was brought back to reality as it was time to view the body and then drive to the cemetery. He done this with a straight face. He had gained his composure back in his fantasy world, and he planned on keeping it. When they finally arrived at the cemetery it was horrible. He couldn't believe they were placing her in the ground. He knew she would have rather been set off on the river at dawn. It was odd that he remembered that conversation from ages ago. For some reason they had been talking about what they wanted to happen to their bodies after they were gone. Casey had talked about wanting to be set off on the river at dawn with the love of her life. She thought it sounded romantic.

Finally everybody threw roses while Casey was being lowered into the ground. Derek couldn't help but imagine her laying in the pristine white satin with her beautiful green dress and her favorite ring on her finger. Lizzie had picked out her outfit, knowing which items were her favorite. Derek hated the images he had of Casey laying there, too pale, too still, too lifeless. He wished it was him. Oh how he wished it was him.

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><p><strong>AN: Thoughts?**

**~Domi~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own LWD.**

**A/N: So sorry it's been so long, but I've had my baby and life has been insane. So updates will be a bit slow, but they will come. Please enjoy!**

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><p>The day after the funeral felt surreal. Before it had been as if Casey was coming back, but she didn't, and she never would. Nobody was the same, nobody was happy. The night before when everybody had left their home they all just went straight to bed. Now the house was a mess and nobody was going to clean, and nobody cared that it was messy.<p>

George went to work like normal, but Nora didn't even bother to leave their room in the basement. Lizzie made sure Marti got to school, but she didn't go herself. She spent the day sitting alone on the couch. Edwin slept all day, he didn't want to face life. Derek went to school. He didn't cause any ruckus like he usually did, he didn't skip any classes or hit on any girls. He just went to class. He was trying to go about his life.

That evening after Derek arrived home from school after picking up Marti he fixed dinner. It wasn't very good, but it was something for everyone to eat. He didn't want to mess with the food that people had brought over after the funeral, it felt like pity food to him, and he didn't want that. He felt like Casey wanted them to be strong, to get back their lives and be normal. It was hard, but he was trying.

George forced everyone to come sit at the dinner table, but everyone avoided looking at the empty chair. Everyone ate silently, none of the usual happy chatter and sibling arguments that usually filled the air was there. Derek hated it, but he couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't upset someone, so he stayed silent.

After dinner Lizzie helped Edwin clear the table and wash up the dishes. They felt it was the best they could do to help Nora. But the act was unusually silent. There were no evil schemes or lively debates as they normally would have been. Just silent cleaning. Once the dishes were done they went their separate ways to their rooms.

Derek couldn't stand the silence, he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. So to fill the air he started blasting music. But it wasn't his usual loud indie music, it was pop. It was something that you would usually hear coming from Casey's room when she'd had a bad day. Ballads were streaming through the air, causing the feeling of sadness to be amplified by everyone that heard it.

"Would you please turn that shit off?" Edwin had entered Derek's room, with anger written on his face.

"Why? It's better than silence. I'm so sick of being able to hear every little sob coming from everyone's room," Derek fired back.

"Well this isn't helping any!" Edwin threw his hands up in frustration, "why don't you play some of the stuff you usually do?"

"Because Casey hated it," Derek told him, "now get out of my room."

Edwin done as he was told and left the room, he didn't have the energy to argue with his older brother, and he didn't have the patience to try and win. Derek lay in his bed for the rest of the evening listening to the sad music, no one else bothered to come and complain to him.

The next day went pretty much as the one before, though Derek didn't make dinner because Lizzie had fixed some of the food that had been brought over. She had decided that she needed to do _something_. That evening Derek didn't feel like being alone in his room, so he found Marti and asked if she wanted to play a game or something. She agreed and they went to the game closet to find a game.

"What about LIFE?" she asked, and Derek decided that it would be a decent game. At least he'd have something to keep his mind off of Casey.

"Sure Marti, here grab it," he lifted the small girl up to grab the game from one of the top shelves.

"Can Lizzie and Edwin play too?"

"Sure, if they want to, go ahead and ask them and I'll get the game set up," he told his youngest sister.

Marti ran off and Derek went to the living room to set up the board game. He moved the coffee table and began to unload the items from the box onto the floor. He had just gotten the board itself set up with all the little pieces stuck into it when Marti arrived.

"They don't want to play," she looked really sad, and like she was about to cry.

"Why not?" Derek asked, trying to keep things normal for the small child.

"Lizzie said she was tired and Edwin said that board games are too trivial with Casey not being here. What does that even mean?"

"Nothing Marti, I'll get them to play," he stood up from the floor and made his way to their rooms.

"What's your problem?" Derek asked Edwin. "You've been an ass lately, Marti just wants to play a game, and you're bring up Casey. She's just a little girl, she doesn't need the sadness that we all have, we need to try and keep things normal for her. So get your ass in there and play the damn game with us!"

Edwin looked shocked at what his brother had just said. He nodded and got up from his bed and headed down stairs. Next, Derek went to Lizzie's room. He was a lot easier on her, he just told her that he thought Marti needed to have things kept normal and she agreed to play.

The four played two games of LIFE and finally Derek decided that Marti needed to get to bed. He felt like he was being a parent to everyone, and was getting upset with George and Nora for not trying to keep things normal for Marti, or trying to help Lizzie and Edwin grieve properly, or even themselves. He knew that things were going to have to get better. They had to. Casey would want them to, she wouldn't want them to live like this.

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><p><strong>AN: Thoughts? I'd love to hear them!**

**~Domi~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own LWD. Sadly.**

**A/N: So, this is the last chapter! I hope you like it! Please enjoy my pretties!**

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><p>Before going to school, Derek stopped his dad in the kitchen when he was getting coffee. "Dad, we need to talk," he said. His dad looked at him a little shocked. They had made a habit of not talking to each other much.<p>

"Um, sure Derek, lets set at the table," George led the way for him and his son to sit down, "so what are you wanting to talk about?"

"I get that you miss Casey, we all do, but you and Nora are the parents here. You're not helping keep things normal for Marti, or helping Lizzie and Edwin grieve properly," Derek told his dad. He had never been one to tell his dad how to parent, but he had to intervene, "Edwin is being a jerk, and Lizzie has no motivation for anything, do you know how strange that is?"

"I know Derek," George stared into his coffee cup, you could see the guilt on his face, "It's just been so hard, and we really do appreciate what you have been doing the past few days with Marti."

"I know Dad, I'm justing doing what I know has to be done. I miss Casey so much, and I just haven't even had time to really take it all in, I've just been acting like the parent lately."

"Don't worry Derek, I'll start doing more. I know you want things to go back to normal, but that will never happen. Casey isn't going to come back, we just have to learn to live with it," George told his son.

"I know that, but she wouldn't want us to all be sad like this, you know that. We have to be happy, we just have to," Derek was in tears, George hadn't seen his son cry in years and he hated seeing it now. Nobody wants to see their child in pain, especially not over losing a sibling, a love, a family member.

"I know we do Der, we're trying our best, we have to take it one day at a time," George was in tears now, the two men were hugging each other.

"What's going on?" Nora had come into the kitchen. She looked rough, you could tell her hair hadn't been brushed in days, she hadn't changed cloths, and hadn't had a wink of sleep.

"Nothing, we were just talking," George let go of his son and stood up to embrace his wife.

"Okay," Nora leaned on her husband for support. She was physically weak. She hadn't ate much, she couldn't bring herself to.

"Come on, lets get some food in you," George said as Derek left the kitchen.

Derek finished getting Marti ready and off to school. Next he set in on Edwin and Lizzie. He knew they had to go to school, when they complained he got his dad on his side. Surprisingly Nora even told them they had to go. She looked like she had finally had a shower and ate something, and her hair wasn't a rat's nest.

"We can do this," Nora whispered to him as he grabbed some Pop Tarts.

"I know, we have an amazing family, this is what she would have wanted," Derek told her right before he left for school.

After the everyone was home that evening Nora announced that she was going to make dinner, Casey's favorite in honor of her. A silent tear fell down Derek's face, and a not so silent few fell from Edwin's. The family sat together and had a nice dinner. Nora and George encouraged talk about their day. Derek thought that maybe his family could get through this.

As the days went by and turned into weeks the family's eyes drifted off to Casey's empty chair less and less during dinner. Everyone started to seem much happier, and Derek knew that it was how Casey would have wanted. She would want her family to go on and be happy.

On the four month anniversary of her death Derek decided to take some time alone in his room. He didn't have his music on, he wasn't playing his music or messing with his hockey stick. He was just sitting there, looking at some old pictures he had of her. He missed her so much.

"Derek," he heard a voice whisper his name.

"Who's there?" he asked, even though he recognized the voice. He didn't believe it.

"You know who I am," he saw a glowing white figure appear in front of him, it couldn't be. He didn't believe in ghosts.

"Case," he stared in amazement.

"Yes it's me, no I'm not a ghost, I'm a...well, it's hard to explain. But I came to tell you thank you."

"For what?"

"Taking care of the family, I knew you could do it," she gave him that smile that he missed so much.

"I did it for you."

"I know."

"Is this real?"

"Of course, and there's one more thing I want to tell you," she said.

"What?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

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><p><strong>AN: So did you like the way I ended it? Please review and let me know!**

**-Domi**


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